Umehito Nekozawa
Umehito Nekozawa, who is commonly referred to as "Nekozawa," is depicted as a hooded figure who is never without Beelzenef, the curse doll, which is actually no more than a hand puppet that looks like a cat. Despite displaying a frightening disposition and strange hobbies, Nekozawa is actually a very nice considerate and Handsome person. He suffers from Photophobia (sensitivity to light), which causes him to collapse in direct sunlight and as a result, whenever he is dragged towards any light source, he will refer to the people who do so as "murderers." Nekozawa is devoted to his little sister, Kirimi; so much so, in fact, that he asks the Host Club to help him become the "princely-big brother" Kirimi wishes him to be. He is of Russian descent from the Tokarev Dynasty whose wealth comes from the sale of firearms. As the President of the Black Magic Club, Nekozawa attempts to get people to join by offering a free "Beelzenef" hand puppet upon admission, but he ultimately fails in this endeavor. Apart from the hand puppet, he also sells cursed voodoo doll versions of Beelzenef which are claimed to bring a shower of misfortune to the person whose name is written on its back. Tamaki Suoh is shown to be quite superstitious and nervous around Nekozawa as he has allegedly experienced malintended events after stepping on Beelzenef. Personality Though Nekozawa first appears to be a scary guy obsessed with the occult and Black Magic, he is revealed to actually be a sweet guy who simply doesn't know how to interact properly with people. His devotion to his family (especially Kirimi) is seen when he submits to a Renge-led transformation, during which he displays intensity and purposefulness in challenging his photophobia (fear of light) and saves Kirimi from a gigantic white cat who is approaching her in one of Ouran's gardens. When Tamaki comforts Kirimi at one point Nekozawa seems jealous of Kirmi and Tamaki's relationship and is determined to win her over. Since he has photophobia he becomes quite nervous or anxious when it comes to light. He is afraid of sunlight and usually starts panting and sweating before passing out due to the intensity of his phobia. Appearance Beneath the black wig and hooded cape worn over his Ouran uniform, Nekozawa is actually a very handsome and good looking young man. He hides his pale blonde hair and blue eyes. When not wearing the dark garb, he actually resembles Tamaki Suoh, which is the reason Kirimi mistakes Tamaki for her big brother when the girl first encounters the Host Club. In the manga, it's seen that while at college, he adopts casual clothing but still wears a black hoodie on top of it and continues to cover his hair with a black wig and dark contacts that cover his blue eyes. Plot Involvement Nekozawa's actual appearance is as alluring as any of the Hosts; however, due to his severe photophobia, he must wear these dark items. Due to his inability to show his natural appearance, his younger sister Kirimi Nekozawa, fails to recognize him as her big brother. In addition, the siblings' conflicting opinions about darkness and animals (Umehito loves both, while Kirimi hates both) prohibits them from being around one another. When Kirimi wrongly concludes that Tamaki is her elder brother, it is the Host Club who comforts the broken-hearted occultist and Renge who puts him through a vigorous re-training to accustom him to the light and be closer to his sister. When trying to accustom to the light he manages to withstand it and turns around to see Kirimi who frightened by his Ghostly appearance in the Flashlight runs out of the room crying while Nekozawa falls to his knees and begs for her to come back. Feeling torn apart decides to give up and let Tamaki take his place as her brother Though Tamaki declines and says he should not give up. Though he later overcomes his aversion to the light temporarily in order to rescue Kirimi from a stray cat, he collapses straight afterwards and relapses into his dark-loving nature; still, his heroism does not go unnoticed by his sister who ends up accepting him for who he is and, eventually, becomes an occultist and Black Magic Club member herself. Nekozawa plays a larger role in the manga, as well as in the live-action drama, to the extent that he is sometimes thought of as the "8th Host." At end of Volume 08 of the manga, Kirimi becomes a darkness-loving occultist herself, complete with her own black hood and a stuffed cat instead of a Beelzenef puppet. In Volume 03 of the manga, the Host Club actually stays at the Nekozawas' beach estate, not the Ootoris', and the reason that Umehito does not attend their dinner is because when Haruhi switches the lights on indoors, he goes into shock and is incapacitated. When Haruhi becomes ill and the hosts escort her to the bathroom, all the hosts (but Tamaki) see the photophobic male without his cloak and wig. It is unclear if Umehito figures out Haruhi's true gender during the Host Club's stay in his mansion since Haruhi's cross-dressing father had replaced her masculine clothing with feminine clothing. And finally, in Volume 18 of the manga, it is Nekozawa and fellow Black Magic Club member, Reiko, who create distractions at the airport to keep Anne-Sophie from boarding the plane, so Tamaki might see her, if only for a few minutes; and despite originally being afraid of him, Tamaki cries when Nekozawa graduates. He goes on to study literature at Ouran University. Relationships Kirimi Nekozawa At first he is feared and hated by his little sister Kirimi and as shown in family photos has tried desperately to make her love him only to fail miserably. He becomes heartbroken depressed and forlornly obsessed by the thought of him and his little sister being together and is desperate for his sister's love. The Host Club helps him and he gains her trust and friendship. She later becomes an occultist much to Nekozawa's delight. Tamaki Suoh Initially Tamaki Suoh is afraid of Nekozawa and believes him to be twisted and dangerous. Although later on he helps Nekozawa overcome the light and unite him and his sister. On Halloween in a scaring competition Nekozawa picks Tamaki to help him scare the opposite team. Tamaki dresses up as the ClockTower Witch's ghost and frightens the team. Although Nekozawa likes to scare Tamaki he at one point says he wants to "Deepen" their relationship subtly implying that Nekozawa might just harbour some feelings for Tamaki. Kuretake Kuretake is the Nekozawa families made and servant. She helps Nekozawa during the Halloween scaring competition and is shown to be loyal to her master. Like Nekozawa she is quite dramatic. Kadomatsu Kadomatsu is Umehito Nekozawa's personal secretary and Butler. He is often shown with Kuretake while they assist Nekozawa. He like Kuretake helps Nekozawa during the Halloween Frightfest and is shown to be sympathetic and loyal to his master. Reiko Kanazuki In Nekozawa's Gothic Black Magic club Reiko seems to be Nekozawa's Right Hand. She often helps Nekozawa with his plans and rituals and like her President shows a fascination with Black Magic and the Occult. In one story although seemingly loyal to her President she sets out on her own Occult agenda and tries to curse Honey's heart and make him love her. Kaouru and Hikaru They seem to dislike him and torment him by shining Flashlights in his face and when Nekozawa admits that he pleads with the Dark Gods for Kirimi to come to the Darkness they show concern and ask him what his intentions with her are. Though they later congratulate him with party poppers when he withstands the Flashlight's "Evil Beam" and even buy a curse doll from him in an episode of the Anime show. Renge Housakuji When Tamaki Suoh decides to help him unite with his little sister Kirimi he gets Renge to help. As part of the Host Club's "Special Training Program" she acts like a drill sergeant and scolds him harshly when he fails his training. When she asks him if he is ready to continue he is clearly nervous worried for his own skin and breaks out in a sweat and begs her to not continue because he isn't ready. She shines the Flashlight in his face tormenting him. She hypocritically criticizes him of his look and the Hitachiin twins correct him by saying she also wears outlandish clothes. When Nekozawa rescues Kirimi she remarks "This is all thanks to my special training" taking all the credit for "helping" him. Live Action He is played by Ryusei Ryo and appears in every episode as well as the Movie where he competes with all of the other clubs at the academy. Gallery Umehito.png|Umehito Nekozawa in his usual dark attire troubledneko.jpg Nekozawas before.png|Nekozawa attempts to convince Kirimi that he is her brother Nekozawa_puppet.png|Nekozawa and Beelzenef express their happiness at Kirimi's acceptance of them Episode5-5.png|Nekozawa suddenly appears, sending Tamaki into shock Neko_praying.png|Nekozawa and Beelzenef in the Black Magic Club CopyofNekosempai.jpg|Nekozawa's true face emerges from the dark room he normally hides in... D93.jpg D112.jpg listeningtotamaki.jpg itstoosoon.png imyourbrother.jpg tragicneko.jpg D105.jpg heroicneko.jpg nekokiri.jpg D131.jpg The Nekozawas.png|The Nekozawa siblings are happily reunited Nekozawas after words.png|Kirimi clutches onto Nekozawa's cloak herbigbrother.jpg 90710-ohc2.jpg|Nekozawa, surprising Tamaki during the Halloween episode Umehito_mushroom.png|Beelzenef feeds Nekozawa a strange mushroom in Haruhi's odd dream... Umehito_as_a_baby.png|...and Nekozawa promptly regresses in age, thanks to the mushroom Nekoatcollege.png|At University, Nekozawa opts for black hoodie and jeans. UNS.png|Umehito i the Volume 18 extras. DS - shadow king and dark prince.png|In the DS game, Kyoya is unfazed by Nekozawa. Trivia * Nekozawa suffers from photophobia (i.e. an abnormal sensitivity to lights) or heliophobia (i.e. fear of sunlight), hence his fear of and weakness when exposed to any bright light source. * The Nekozawa family can trace their heritage to the Tokarev Dynasty of Russia, suggesting a connection to arms dealing and manufacturing; a firearm even appears in both series. * The presence of the word 'neko' in his last name explains his worship of cats, as well as the constant presence of his cat puppet, Beelzenef. * Umehito's nickname is the "Dark Prince." * Nekozawa is very knowledgeable in areas concerning black magic, although the origins or whereabouts of his acquired knowledge are unverified. * He seems to be either a Goth or an Emo. Anime Appearances Category:Characters Category:Anime Male Characters Category:Manga Male Characters Category:Dorama Characters Category:Black Magic Club Category:In Love/Caring Characters